Powder-mill machinery.



J. r. OBRIBN. POWDER MILL MACHINERY.

YAPPLICATION FILED JUNIN), 1912.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

2 8HEETBBEEET 1.

auf@ MIM J. F. OBRIEN.

POWDER MILL MAGHHIRY.

APPLICATION IXLBD JUNE a, 1912.

Patented Aug'. 26, 1913.

a sums-amm a.

UNITED STATES` JAMES ,F. OiBBIEN,O F CHICAGO, MOIS.

POWDER-KILL MACHINERY.

SPeeicationroSIettei-s Patent.

Patented Aug. 26,1913.

Application-M June 3, 1912. Serial No. 701.966.

. To all whom il. ma concern simple riso ' 'Be it lknown t at fI, James F. OBiiimu a-oitizen of the jUnited States, residing at -Chica in the county of Cook, State of iIllinois, have invented new anduseful Im-f' -provemeiits in Powder-Mill Machinery, of

which rthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to the machinery;

ofa plant particularly adapted for carryrate-carbohydrate Yexplosives and the like;

and this .present invention consists particularly in machine constructions and arrangey ing out a process of manuments '-for ca facture which 1s entirely devoid of heat or friction and in which the explosive is at all times free and Aunconfined.

I Ihave described in various coriding applications `the general composition an manufacture of my explosive. Therein I have explained `how the dierent ingredients are prepared and then mixedtogether in a manner and -then granulated and dried. This process of manufacture-requires (1,) a disintegrator for lbreaking up vthe chlorate into small particles, the chlorate being deliquescent and therefore apt tobe in lumpy condition; (2) a mixer in which 'the various solid and liquid ingredients are brought together and thoroughly lmixed until homo neity is attained; (3) a granu- -lator in w ich Vthe mixed explosive is divided into anules of a uniform size; (4) a drier in w ich the excessive moisture is removed; and (5) an insulator in which the granules are su plied with a coating of powdered graphite or the like to give them a smooth exterior 'and good appearance.

have arranged all of these machines into one granulating machines. After describing theplant in general .I-Wsh to describe these two particular machines 1n detail, and to cover ing outprocesses of manufacture for chlo- Ainthe'followin claimsthose features which are common to oth machines and some features-which are lfound only in one.

IIhave s hown m -preferred arrangement o f mechanisms an `my preferred construc- -tion ofthe individual machines in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig ure 41 is a vertical sectional elevation showing my complete plan. Fig. 2 is a detail ongitudinal section of the mixer. 'Fig. 3 Jis an exterior elevation of the same. @'Fig. isa section Vtaken online 4-4 of Fig. 3. 'F1g. 5 is a longitudinal section of the nulator. fFig. 6 is a section taken online v16---6 Aof Fig. 5. aFig. ,7 is an exterior elevation ofthe nulator. Fig. 8 is an exterior elevation oI the drier. Fig. 9 is a vertical central section ofthe same.

sIn the drawings -10 may designate a suitable frame and Yhousing within which AI may place my complete plant, the lant being preferably located on a slope sot at the machinesmay be conveniently arran ed in succession above each other so tha gravitational feed `may 'be employed throughout. The -uppermost of the machines is disintegrator 20. This dsintegrator ma be of any desired character, being designedy merely to break up the lpieces of potassium chlorate so that a iinely divided material may be supplied to the mixer 21. Mixer 21 is arranged directly-beneath a chute 22 leading from the disintegrator, Vand a chute 23 leading from the mixer discharges directly into the granulator 24. From granulator 24* suitable non-metallic elevator 25 leads up to the hopper 26 of drier 27. The granulated explosive passes through this drier then out through a discharge chute 28 and passes to insulator 29. From the insulator it is ready to be suitably acked and loaded for shipment. Throug out this lant the explosive is at all times unconine ,.the chutes being free and open and all the 'machines of ample capacity. There is no flame used in any portion of the plant; and the powder never passes where it can enter betweenA two frictionally engaging parte.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 I have illustrated in detail the construction of the mixer. This mixer has a semi-cylindrical drum 30 with a peripheral wall 31 preferably of smooth brass. The drum 30 has hollow trunnions ,32 which rest in suitable bearings 33 on frame 34. The drum has a cover 35 having a door 36on either side. `It is revoluble on its bearings by means of gear teeth 37 which mesh with a pinion 38, the pinion being rotatable by hand crank 39. The drum may thus be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3 so that its contents may be easily dumped into the chute 23 directly below.

Extending centrally through hollow trunnions 32 and freely spaced therefrom, is a rock shaft 40 having cranks 41 on its ends connected by a rod 42 to a revolving crank 43. Means are provided for adjusting the stroke of connecting rods 42 so that the oscillation of cranks 4l may vary. The crank 43 is mounted on a shaft 44 revolved through the medium of a belt connection 45. Shaft 40 has bearings 46 which securely hold it centrally spaced in the hollow trunnions 32 in such manner that it is impossible for it to come into contact with the inner surfaces of the trunnions. Shaft 40 carries the rocker arms 47 which support mixing wires 48 and Scrapers and followers 49. Scrapers 49 are mounted on pivots 50 which are adjustable by placement in the different apertures shown, so that the angle of the Scrapers to the inner periphery of the drum may be varied. These Scrapers rest upon the inner periphery by their own weight only; and their members` 51 which engage directly with the brass of the periphery are preferably of wood or similar material. The stroke of the rock shaft and arms is such that each scraper is carried down to the central vertical plane passing through shaft 40, riding over the material in the bottom of the barrel on the down stroke and scraping the material from the brass periphery on the up stroke. Thus the Scrapers perform two distinct functions, scraping the material from the periphery and thus helping to thoroughly mlx it, and passing over the material directly after the mixing wires 48 and thus obliterating the furrows made by those wires. The wires are. placed in staggered relation, as illustrated in Fig. 4, so that they thoroughly divide and turn over the materials, moving them from side to side and causing them to come into such intimate contact with each other as to form a. perfectly homogeneous mixture. The wires 48 never come into contact with the inner periphery of the drum, being rigidly held with their ends 'at a .short distance therefrom.

In the operation of this machine a charge of they solid ingredients is placed in the drum through one or both of doors 36 and the rock shaft started in operation. The liquid ingredients are then fed through a liexible connection 60 into a suitable tank 61 carried by the rocker arms between the two sets of mixing wires. The lower end of this mixing tank isperforated, as at 62, so that the liquid ingredients are distributed in a shower over the solid ingredients between the two sets of mixing wlres. It will be seen that the supply of liquid ingredients is immediately followed by one or the other set of mixing wires and is immediately mixed into the solids by being thrown into intimate contact therewith. The result of this action, and of the action of Scrapers 51 is to thoroughly and quickly mix the different ingredients together without the necessity of applying heat at any stage of the operation. It is seen that there can possibly be no friction between any metallic parts of the mixer, the only place having any friction whatever being on the Scrapers 51. But these Scrapers are made of such material that their friction cannot generate any great aomunt of heat or a spark. The drum is perfectly free and open; there is no confinement to make an explosion even if the charge in the mixer should be purposely ignited.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 I have illustrated in detail the construction of the granulator. This machine has a completely cylindrical drum 7() mounted on hollow trunnions 71 resting in suitable bearin s 72. Bearings 72 are mounted on a sultable frame 73. The drum is continuously revolved through the medium of a belt connection 74 with shaft 75 which is in 'turn rotated through gearing connections 76 from a shaft 77, the rotation of drum 70 being com aratively slow. The drum has two en s or heads 78 and a peripheral wall 79 of suitable wire screen. The materials are forced out of the granulator through this wire screen, being thereby limited in size; and they are yfed into the granulator through openings 80 inone of the heads 78. Openings 80 connect each with a small sectional hopper or chute 81 which, taken all together, form a continuous rin of chutes on one end of the drum or barre The material is fed into these hoppers 81 from the chute 23, feeding always into the uppermost hopper 81, passing directly through its feed opening 80 into the interior of the drum. Thus, in spite of its continual. revolution, the drum 1s constantly supplied with the 115 mixed explosive ready for granulation.

Mounted in suitable bearings 90 there is provided a rock shaft 91 havin a crank or arm 92 on its end connected y rod 93 to crank 94 on shaft 77. The revolution of 120 shaft 77 (througl1`the medium of belt connection 94) causes the rocking or oscillation of shaft 91 in the manner hereinbefore described in connection with the mixing machine'. This shaft 91 carries two frames 95 125 and' 96. Frame 96 carries two sets of raking rods or wires 97 somewhat similar to the mixing wires of the mixing machine. These raking wires oscillate back and forth I, 'through the layer of material which always 13o Vclean and clear screen is presented continuously beneat-h the raking wires 97, and there is no liability whatever of the screen becoming so clogged that the discharge of materials would cease. In fact, in practice we have found that the material i is discharged very readily and continuously, the

` material passing through the machine veiv not create friction or cause a spark ndownwardly alternately over inner truii uickly. It is desirable to keep only su cient material in the machine to-zcover the portions of the screen over which the rake wires 97 are oscillating. It will be vseen that the ranulzitorv has many points in common with the--` mixer. In the granulator there are no interior parts in direct contact except the peripheral screen and the revolving brush 98; but these parts are of such materials that they cein- 1D ractice I 'prefer to make the brush of hog bristles). .The raking wires 97 are spaced so that their ends never touch the peripheral screen; and it is impossible for the rock shaft 91 to come into contact with the trunnions 71. -The parts are also arranged as regards end motion so that the shaft- 91' cannotv move longitudinally and cause the frame 95 and 96 to engage with the heads of the drum. I thus have what I term a perfectly frictionless machine, there being no parts in lrictional contact'where there -is any exposure to the explosive. And, as

I have stated in connection with the mixer, the granulator is perfectly open and free, thus rendering absolutely impossible a detonation of its charge.

I have also shown in the drawings, .in Figs. 8 and 9, the construction-of `my drier. The material enters the drier and is distributed'V over a cone 100 and then passes cated cones 100 and outer inverted tru'ncated cones 102, passing in the general zigzag direction indicated by the arrows in the upper part of Fig. 9. Heated or cold air passes upwardly from a chamber 103 at the lower part of the drierand then out through the openings between the inner cones 101 and into the regular space between the two sets of co-nes, passing finally to atmosphere between the outer cones 1 02.

lThe air may be passed through the drier cold or may be warmed through the'medium of a suitable steam coil 104. The explosive passes down'between the cones, finally lodging in a sort of annular pocket designated by the numeral 105 from whence it gravitationally passes through openings in I vthe lowermost outer cone 102, which openings are blocked by wooden blocks 106. The dryv explosive passes then down into the discharge chute 28 which is arranged around the chamber 103. The disintegrator shown in Fig. 1 is merely a revolvingscreen arrangement inside a suitable casing,t'aking a charge of chlorate and working it through the screen. The insulator consists of a tumblin finely divided graphite are rolled over and over. I mention the construction of these parts to show that my process is safe throughout; that there is no friction, pressure, heat or confinement at any stage.

In the following claims I Wish to secure particularly those features and combinations which are common to the mix-ing and granulating machines; being those features which result in a perfectly frictionless process of manufacture.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In powder machinery, a revoluble drum having a charging opening therein,

hollow trunnions forming the supportingv axis of the drum, bearings for said trunnions, an oscillating shaft extending throughv said drum and trunnions, the inner diameters of the trunnions being greater than that of the shaft, bearings for the shaft holding it approximately concentric with the barrel and trunnions and free from contact therewith, powder engaging members depending from the shaft close to the drum periphery, and means to oscillate the shaft to oscillate the powder engaging members over the lower part of the drum.

2. In powder machinery, a revoluble drum having axial openings at each end, a shaft" extending through the drum and freely through said openings, bearings for the shaft in such position that the shaft does not contact with the drum at any point, spaced wires carried by the shaft and projecting radially therefrom to a point close to but not touching the drum inner periphery, a scraper carried by said shaft, and means to oscillate the shaft.

3. In powder machinery, a drum having.

Asaid shaft, a liquid distributer carried by the shaft, and means to oscillate said shaft.

4. In powder machinery, a frame, a drum with axial hollow trunnions journaled` on the frame, afshaft passing through the t-rundrum in Awhich the powder and drum radial-alms carried by the shaft within but vvnions and drum,

-c1ose to but not touchin nions, an oscillating shaft extending through said drum and trunnions, the inner diameters of the trunnions being greater than that of the shaft, bearings for the shaft holding it a proximately concentric with the barrel an trunnions and free from contact therewith, a set of spaced powder engaging' wires projectin radially from the shaft to points close to ut not touching the drum periphery, and means to oscillate the shaft to oscillate the powder engaging members over the lower art of the drum.

In witness that Ipclaim the fore oing I have hereunto subscribed my name t `s 24th day of May 1912.

JAMES F. OBRIEN.

.thediameter of the shaft beingmuch less than that of the interior of the trunnions, o @for the shaft spaced outside. the trunnion Aarings in such position that the shaft is revolubly sup orted clear of the trunlons, both the shaft and being prevented from moving axially,

not touching the drum, radially extending members carried by the arms and extending the drum inner periphery, a liquid distri uter on the arms, a scraper plvoted to the arms and adapted to rest upon 'and follow the drum inner periphely, and means to oscillate the shaft.

5; In powder machinery, a revoluble drum having; a charging opening therein, hollow trumons forming-.the sup orting axis of the drum, bearings trun- Witnesses:

JEROM'E MCNABB,

ELwoon H. BABKELEW.

Xv' cents each, liy

was .um ,aan my be, mma m Y'. Washingtomn.

'addressing the Commissioner a! Patents, 

